It’s time for what has almost become an annual event in college basketball—readjusting our expectations for Michigan State.

The Spartans are better than anyone thought they would be, as evidenced by a thorough stomping of rival Michigan, a team that not long ago was once No. 1 in the country, on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. Michigan State proved it is a legitimate national championship contender with its 75-52 win against the Wolverines, and the Spartans are building a resume worthy of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

There were plenty of questions about Tom Izzo’s squad, despite its spot somewhere outside the top 10 on most preseason top-25 lists. How would they replace Mr. Everything, Draymond Green? Could Keith Appling be a “next-level” point guard capable of leading an elite team? Was freshman Gary Harris ready for heavy minutes? Was there any leadership on the roster?

And then when they lost to a depleted Connecticut team to start the season and dropped a road game at Miami—seriously, Michigan State losing to Miami in basketball?—in late November, those fears seemed well-founded.

On Tuesday night, those fears seemed ridiculous.

The Spartans played spectacular basketball on both ends of the court. They moved the ball quickly on offense—three players had at least two first-half assists—and they took confident shots, shooting 53.3 percent from the field as a team. Michigan State took a 14-point lead (38-24) into the halftime locker room, and then really turned up the pressure.

The second-half lead swelled to 31 points. Instead of planning for late-game scenarios, both coaches had to be thinking about getting their starters off the court to avoid injuries. The Wolverines, who shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, struggled to find anything resembling a clean look at the basket.

Michigan shot even worse in the second half, ending the game at 39.6 percent and scoring those season-low 52 points.

The Wolverines finished with 16 turnovers and just six assists.

Even without sophomore guard Travis Trice, who missed the game with post-concussion symptoms, the Spartans took great care of the ball. They had 17 assists and only eight turnovers. The Spartans dominated on the glass, with 14 offensive rebounds and 40 total, a 12-rebound margin over the Wolverines.

Harris, who hit three first-half 3-pointers, added a couple more after halftime and finished with 17 points, to go with four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Three other Spartans scored in double-digits, too.

You get the point. And we get the point.

The Spartans are title contenders again. At some point, we’ll all learn.